"Those with talent who naturalise today can easily leave the country of adoption for greener pasture tomorrow; it is what these developed countries do to keep them there that really matters.

Between the hard-working stateless man who has spent much of his life toiling on Malaysian soil and the corrupt politician who continues to squander our national wealth, it does not take a genius to distinguish who is the real patriot." By Josh Hong in Malaysiakini

Tun Dr M should advise the new PM YAB Najib

to abandon the shameful Islam Had Hari

Just read the following interview published in the Mizzama on line magazine with the exiled umbrella orgnization ‘National Council of Union of Burma’ (NCUB) Joint General Secretary (1) Myint Thein. Surprisingly these two Buddhists organizations and persons’ views on Rohingyas are much better than the inhumane and un-Islamic Islam Had Hari leader. Tun Dr M should advise the new PM YAB Najib to abandon the shameful Islam Had Hari from Malaysia as we should not continue to practice that kind of Islam in Malaysia.

“Humanism is more important than the term ‘Rohingya’: NCUB”, Interview for Mizzima by Ko Wild on Wednesday, 11 February 2009 with exiled umbrella orgnization ‘National Council of Union of Burma’ (NCUB) Joint General Secretary (1) Myint Thein.

Asean’s day dream or nightmare

At an academic conference some years ago in Seoul, South Korea, Chua Beng Huat, a sociology professor at the National University of Singapore, remarked that Asean as a regional grouping had achieved nothing over the last few decades.

If Malaysian Government had already sent the condolence note to Myanmar,I am sorry for writing this.

If Malaysian Government, GLCs (government Linked companies), NST, TV3, NTV7, RTM and NGOs (esp. government affiliated) had already started a campaign to help Myanmar,please accept myapology for wrongly writing this posting.

We know that we are not Orang Puteh (Whiteman) , no Arab blood and have no Malay-Indonesian blood. We are ALWAYS discriminated in your country.

Never mind if you do not wish to recognize the undocumented workers/migrants and asylum seekers.

During the great disaster in Myanmar, I hope if Malaysian government could do the followings to help us without spending a cent.

Please announce amnesty on all the Myanmar/Burmese undocumented workers/migrants and asylum seekers including those already in the detention camp. (At least if they could work and earn, they could help their families, relatives and friends.)

You could put a time limit for example six months to one year.

It is shameful that you are heartless to continue arresting and some of your agents are harassing them daily.

Dr San Oo Aung

17 Myanmar Illegal Immigrants Held In Kelantan

BERNAMA, RANTAU PANJANG, May 6 (Bernama) — The Anti- Smuggling Unit (UPP) Tuesday arrested 17 Myanmar nationals without valid travel documents in Kampung Kempas, Machang, as they were being smuggled into the country by a syndicate.

Kelantan UPP commander Mazlan Che Hamid said the Myanmar nationals, aged between 16 and 30 years, had been turned over to the Immigration authorities.

He said the van driver, a Malaysian, stopped the vehicle by the roadside and fled after realising that it was being tailed by UPP personnel at 4.30 am.

The UPP personnel had followed the van from Kampung Kedap here, some 40 km from Machang, he said.

Myanmar SPDC should espouse the

Political maturity of Nepalese election

Nepalgave birth to the soul progenitor of one of the world’s most followed religions, Siddharta Gautama and Buddhism, ever conceive this poorest country by material standards to be so rich in its political culture.

Offered a position among five other Malaysian international observers with a regional Thailand-based poll watchdog Asian Network for Free Elections (Anfrel), I had the opportunity to surpass the stigmas and witness directly the mature state of political culture practiced by Nepalese in their historic constituency assembly (CA) elections.

War is over now. A comprehensive peaceful agreement was reached between the Maoists (now known as the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists or CPN-M) and the two major parties, Nepali Congress (Liberal democrats who headed the interim seven-party alliance government) and the Communist Party of Nepal – Unified Marxist-Leninists (CPN-UML) which is actually, ideologically a social democratic group.

It was a sight that reflected political maturity. Ideologies from the far left to the far right was seen free to contest in an equal playing field facilitated by the Nepalese Election Commission.

The Nepal EC’s integrity is unquestionable. Unlike Malaysia where its electoral regulators have suffered a major crisis of public confidence as it is pervasively seen as pro-status quo, the Nepal EC seems impeccable.

Observers from international groups like the European Union, Carter Center of United States of America, the British government and Anfrel all agreed that the Nepal EC functions with integrity. The Nepalese EC was professional and impartial when it comes to executing their tasks.

My arrival in the Nuwakot district, north of the city’s capital Kathmandu, was greeted with the coincidental encounter with thousands of supporters from the Maoists party rallying on the town’s main streets. Security personnel were present but they were there to protect the rally participants instead of cracking their skulls with batons.

The head security of the district known as the Chief District Officer (CDO) when met informed observers that mass rallies are permitted. A permit is not necessary for parties to organise mass rallies. They must however inform the CDO prior to the event and the CDO will consult with the EC officers on how to facilitate the wishes of the pleading party.

By this, observers witnessed a well coordinated regulation pertaining to campaigning to ensure that all parties receive fair and adequate space and time to express ideas. By this it meant that potential violent clashes between different party supporters had been constructively avoided without obstructing them from exercising their fundamental civil liberties.

Another interesting thing to note about Nepal in this particular elections is the practice of the parallel or known to them as the mixed election system. One is the ‘First-Past-The-Post’ system (the one practiced in Malaysia) and the proportional representative (PR) system.

PR system will ensure candidates contesting have support from all sectors (women, marginalised groups, youth and the elderly) of society. This is to guarantee that no sectors of the Nepalese society are left out from representation and that their voices and concerns will be mediated when the PR elected candidates convene to draft the country’s constitution.

As far as the electoral process is concerned, the measures introduced by the Nepalese EC mirrored an earnest effort to obviate manipulation. The usage of indelible ink faced no objections from all the parties involved.

Similarly in Malaysia, party agents were allowed to object to any suspicion of foul play. But Malaysia is rife with protests with regards to electoral rolls and registration problems every time it holds a general election. None of such irregularities were encountered in the polling centres throughout Nepal.

Nepal however suffers from tremendous backwardness in the technological sphere. This rendered voter registration process a total mess. Various instances of eligible voters not being able to vote due to the problems arising from the lack of technological resources.

The election materials (ballot boxes, indelible inks, etc) arrived to the rural areas by foot. People walked for miles and hours through cruel landscapes to the polling centres and did not complain about the government ban on public and private transportation (to prevent voters from other areas to vote outside their designated polling locations).

Many would, given the geographical conditions of Nepal, suggest postal voting but it was not accepted by the EC as they felt that the postal voting system can be easily manipulated in favour of the stakeholders.

Material poverty, political cultural wealth

The presence and acceptance of international election observers by the Nepalese government, political parties including the Maoists proved the country’s political will and seriousness to implement a free and fair elections.

Red flags of the Maoists numbering in thousands waved and hung alongside right-wing parties indicated a certain level of political maturity. It indicated the freedom enjoyed by the people to democratically choose any ideology, be it radical or conservative, without suppression or discrimination.

Observers, western or eastern alike, shared the absence of ethnic antagonism in their observation reports. Despite the high illiteracy rate of Nepal (40 percent) and the extremely low tertiary education graduates percentage (0.7 percent), racism was virtually not in the Nepalese vocabulary. Indo-Aryans alongside their Paharis to other smaller groups like Tharus and Dhimals had all voted according to ideologies brought by the political parties and not ethnicity.

Nepal is no Japan nor South Korea or even near Malaysia when it comes to material prosperity. But this country is as rich in its political culture as any developed democracy in commitment to implement an election system that guarantees the voice of the Nepalese people are properly represented in the construction of a new Nepal.

Can we say the same about Myanmar? (Note: I, SOA, changed the name of the country ) I leave it to the readers to decide. As for me, I am writing from Nepal with admiration and hope.